


Reindeer in the Headlights

by NoSunGlasses



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Developing Friendships, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Loki Redemption (Marvel), Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29927544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoSunGlasses/pseuds/NoSunGlasses
Summary: What if Thanos never found the Asgardian escape ship?---Wrote this because I'm still not over the first 5 min of Infimity War. How far this will go is TBD.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

They'd successfully arrived on Midgard - Earth - landing on the vast green grassfield that the Allfather had referred to as 'home'. The Asgardians and Sakaarian rebels stepped out of the Statesman in files with Thor at their lead, milling out onto the grassland and glancing around in nervous wonder. The place was deserted for the moment, but Loki had no doubt their arrival would be picked up soon by Earth's intelligence and end the momentary quietness.

Last time he was here on Earth (Technically, the time before last time, but last time wasn't much of a visit), he'd led an army through a wormhole in the city of New York, raining destruction upon its citizens and killing thousands of innocents. His mind in a spiteful, hateful haze, hell bent on enslaving the entire human race, seeing them as nothing but ants, just because Thor cared dearly for them, because he wanted to show the universe that he could do it. He hadn't enjoyed the killing or the destruction then, truely, merely saw it as necessity and worthy sacrifice for his conquest. His humiliating defeat at the hands of his brother and the Avengers was humbling. Thinking back, he was foolish for believing that the humans were defenseless worms that he could easily crush. As old Odin had berated him, they, the Asgardians, were not all-powerful gods.

He could no longer remember the blind hatred that had consumed him and caused him to go on the rampage that he did. He'd since then accepted his heritage, and while he still felt a sort of bitterness for being lied to by the people he loved, it wasn't as if he was the only one who were lied to about various things, and, looking back, again, his actions were quite overblown for something that he would have come to terms with eventually.

In the years following New York, following his imprisonment and following Mother's passing, he had slowly, very slowly, came to the realization that, it wasn't about the power, or the glory, or the throne, or praises or recognition from the people anymore. Well, it had never been about that, as much as he might claim it was to all those he scorn, and all those he didn't. 

He'd had a taste of what it was like to rule, and while he certainly didn't dislike it, thoroughly enjoyed making the people of Asgard praise his "sacrifice" and his "heroic deeds", laughed at the ignorance of the people unable to tell that the King they served wasn't really their king,...it was only ever something to fill in the void of what he truely seeked.

Mother and Father were both gone, indirectly, by his own hands. Ragnorak happened, Asgard fell. They'd all lost their home, only the people remained, and too late did he realise that what he seeked was no longer obtainable, that it was all pointless now to attempt to querrel with the only member of his family left, his dear brother Thor.

At the end of the day, all of them, king or royals or guards or commoners, they were all the same. Refugees. 

For some reason, that thought was somehow liberating.

As expected, a few minutes after they had landed and started spreading out onto the grassfield like lost souls unsure what they were doing or where they should be, fiery sparks opened itself a portal in front of them, and a few men walked out. 

"Thor Odinson," said the man at the lead with dark hair and grey streaks at the sides of his head, wearing deep blue garb and a red cape, "What are you doing here? Why have you brought...these?" the man asked in an accusatory tone, eyeing the obviously non-midgardian refugees around.

Loki remembered this man. He was still a little miffed about the man making him fall through an endless portal for an entire 30 minutes. The Loki of old would have attacked him. At the moment, he had no interest in that at all and merely stood there, observing.

A hostile frown occured on the man's face as soon as he found Loki, and without warning, fiery sparks appeared around Loki's feet. Knowing what was happening this time, Loki lept out of the circle quickly, raising his hands in an attempt to appear non-threatening.

"Wait! I come in peace," Loki said. 

"Oh yeah? I'm sure you do," the man said, showing no signs of relenting as he waved his hands and the portal expanded in Loki's direction. 

Thor stepped in. "Hey, uh, Doctor Stephen Strange? I know he probably deserves whatever wizardry you're trying to do there, but, I believe he is telling the truth about coming in peace."

Doctor Stephen Strange squinted at Thor, the portal kept open but stopping its expansion for the time being. Loki inched away from the edge discreetly. 

"Once again, the correct term is mystic arts," Strange said snappily, "Why have you brought him back? Last time, we agreed on you bringing him and Odin back to Asgard, not bringing more people here."

"Asgard has fallen. My people needed a new home."

Strange thought about it for a second, tilting his head, "That's understandable. Still doesn't explain why he's here?"

"Loki is of Asgard, too," Thor replied.

"Yes, he is of Asgard. He is also someone who once lead an invasion to enslave the human race leading to the death of hundreds," Strange said in exasperation, "Did you think about that?" 

Loki took another discreet step away from the edge of the portal. Strange frowned, and the portal expanded so that Loki was once again right at the edge of it. He leaned slightly over the edge, looking down at the swirling, unending darkness that awaited him should he fall in.

"I did. Trust me I know what he's done here is unforgivable, but I believe that he is capable of change and capable of doing things that doesn't involve betraying and hurting others," said Thor, turning suddenly to look at Loki, " _Right, Loki?_ "

Loki looked up, fighting the urge to say something smart or sarcastic. Even he knew that now was not the time. Instead, he opted for something meek and unaggravating, "Yes, brother."

"Right," Thor said, turning back to Strange, "See? He agrees, and he never agrees with me."

Strange merely raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

Thor seemed to realize how unconvincing that was, "Alright, I know he is also known for his lies, but I can personally vouch for him, that at this very moment he means no harm. If he does in fact decide to do harm in the future, I will personally bring him to your doorsteps for you to do whatever wizardry to him. You have my word," said Thor.

Strange paused, then, glaring at Loki straight in the eyes, he waved his hands and closed the portal. "There's no need for that. We will be watching," he said without breaking eye contact. 

He backed away from Thor, turning and opening another portal back to where he came from. Seeming to remember something, he turned back, did some manipulation of sorcery, and handed Thor a business card, "You might wanna talk to these people. Might be able to help your people settle down," he said. Before Thor could look at the card or reply, he entered the portal and they were gone as soon as they came.

Loki approached Thor, pretending to look at the card.

"You are taking a lot of responsibilities for my actions, brother. What if I betray you?" Loki said, unable to help himself. 

Thor looked up, gave Loki a look, "Will you, really, Loki? After everything?"

Loki didn't reply, because he knew, deep down, the answer was a 'No'. It wasn't that he had suddenly become the dictionary example of loyalty. It was just...he didn't really find the prospect of betraying Thor, and by extension his people, too appealing, especially when he'd had a hand in their rescue and betraying them would be akin to undoing his own actions.

Thor gave him a humourless smile, waving the card in front of him, "I'm going to go deal with this."

He gave Loki a pat on the shoulder, then walked briskly back towards the ship.


	2. Chapter 2

The construction of New Asgard started a few days after their arrival. With the help of the local government agency, they were able to quickly set up a few shelters and allow people to move in instead of squatting in the Statesman. The shelters were nothing like the golden, grandiose architectures traditional to Asgard, just plain, simple wooden houses, but they sufficed for the time being. 

Someone in the government agency helped them set up a fundraiser called 'Help Thor And His People Settle Down', which Loki found the name to be very lacking. Nonetheless, they were soon getting donations from all over the world, or so he was told. The concept of a fundraiser was quite new to him. It baffled him that people would send resources their way just because they liked Thor, more so the fact that he was somehow on the receiving end of such kindness. Later, when he was told by the excited agent that a large sum had been donated to them from the Stark Industry, he had enough decency in him to find that really, really awkward.

Thor had made a jab at him afterwards, saying "Aren't you glad you didn't rule over Earth as a dictator," to which Loki didn't respond because he was quite busy wondering how many of the donators were victims to his invasion in New York.

Needless to say, he kept a low profile. New York might be 6 years ago, but if people were like him, and he was sure there would be people like him, they would remember their losses and they would remember what he did to cause it, and they would want vengence. At the moment, he would like to remain as unperforated as possible, not to mention avoid drawing attention and bringing chaos and destruction to the people of Asgard when they had already lost so much. At least, luckily, most people on Earth didn't actually know how he looked like, so it was easy enough to blend in with a simple fake alias.

He tried to help his people wherever he could. When they needed a hand lifting heavy woodboard to the roof, he gave them a wave of his magic. When an old lady lost her box of precious memories, he helped her find it patiently. When they ran out of food and supplies, he delivered them to each household from their suppliers. He learned Midgardian technology and taught it to those who were interested, learned about fishery from a nearby fisherman so they had a means of living. The Asgardian people thanked him for his help, and he caught his brother looking at him with a sort of touched relief.

Somehow, being appreciated for his deeds instead of hated was a nicer sentiment then he would have expected. Who would have thought?

Just like that, a month passed in the midst of rebuilding. Life was busy and mundane, but peaceful. Families each had a roof above their heads, had food and clothing, and were all blending in well with the Midgardians and their ways. People seemed content. Loki, however, couldn't help but feel a sort of apprehension and impending doom, and the more he tried to help his people, the more guilt he felt about something that he'd done right before the destruction of Asgard.

"Hey, Korg!" Loki called, "Where's Thor?"

Korg, the Kronan, looked up from his game of rock-paper-scissor with Miek, "Hey man. I saw him walking towards the shore with Heimdall."

"Thank you," Loki said, nodding at the two of them politely.

"No problem, man" Korg replied, waving as Loki passed by. 

As Korg told him, Thor and Heimdall were at the shore, facing and looking out at the vast ocean in front of them. He overheard them talking about whether or not they should attempt building the Bifrost, and their realization that they had no means of obtaining enough resources to build one at the moment. Heimdall saw Loki approach them before Thor did (of course he did), and, sensing that Loki wanted to talk to Thor alone, he politely excused himself, giving Loki a salutating nod before walking back towards the village.

Loki took Heimdall's place beside Thor, similarly staring out towards the ocean. He was unsure where to start. He wanted to make sure that their conversation did not end in a fight, which was something he never thought would be a wish coming from him.

A moment of silence passed before Thor started instead, "I saw you helping out with the people. Thank you."

Loki knew that such words were much more than mere gratitude, within it a mixture of tentative trust, hope, and relief that perhaps he was not wrong about Loki's potential to do something more than what he had been. Again, such sentiment, and the fact that he didn't disappoint it, was something he had quickly come to enjoy.

"You're welcome," Loki repied. 

Another moment of silence, not uncomfortable, passed between them, the howl of the ocean wind forming a calming symphony with the waves beneath. 

"I think we should build the Bifrost," Loki broke the silence this time. 

Thor looked to him, then back towards the ocean, "I was just talking about that with Heimdall. We have no way of finding the resources and energy to build it. The donations given to us were plenty, but only for regular livelihood, and not for something as taxing as building the Bifrost."

Loki looked down at the waves, studying the way the water splashed against the rocks, "We have to find a way. At the moment, our only means of transportation are an unweaponized celebration ship, a large transport ship, and a single truck. If someone were to attack us, or attack somewhere else on Earth, we have no way of receiving or sending help. Our people are absolutely defenseless."

"Attack us? Who's going to attack us? Why would anyone want to attack us? We've nothing but refugees," Thor frowned, looking at Loki in alert.

Loki huddled a little furthur inside his Midgardian-style jacket, unable to look at Thor, "We've never talked about who sent me to New York, did we?" he huffed.

"Well, no. You didn't exactly want to talk." Thor said. Loki recognized that as a great understatement.

Steeling himself, Loki started, "His name is Thanos, the Mad Titan. He was the one who showed me worlds beyond what I had known at the time, granted me knowledge and secrets of the far universe, and he gave me the Sceptre. He sent me to Earth to retrieve the Tesseract, and in exchange for the service, I was allowed to rule Earth."

Thor didn't say anything, merely continued to look at him solemnly. Loki kept on, "He's been growing his forces by the days, bidding his time. His goal is to collect the six infinity stones to complete his gauntlet."

Thor tensed at the mention of the infinity stones. 

"There are two out of the six stones on Earth at this very moment. It's only a matter of time before he brings his army here. The Chitauri that invaded New York were a mere fraction of his army, and I have no doubt that it has grown since then. Earth is ill prepared to face him."

Loki stole a glance at Thor, finding his brother to be surprised, but not angry. Not yet, at least. He continued, "The Sceptre that I brought during New York, that gem is the mind stone. I don't know where that one is right now since I left it here on Earth-"

"I do," Thor said, "Or at least, I did last time I was here. The Avengers probably know where he is right now."

Loki nodded, electing to ask about why Thor said 'he' instead of 'it' later. He continued, "Then, there is the Tesseract."

Thor frowned, "The Tesseract was in Odin's vault. We lost it when Asgard was destroyed."

Loki looked at Thor darkly. Realization dawned on Thor's face as he began to understand what Loki was attempting to tell him. 

Wordlessly, Loki conjured out the Tesseract, letting it float between the two of them. Thor looked at him with a mix of suprise and a sort of paradoxical approval-disapproval, before settling on exasperation.

"Oh Loki…" Thor said, pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing his face in his palm.

Noting that, surprisingly, Thor still wasn't angry, Loki tried, "We could use it to build the Bifrost. But…"

"But Thanos is going to come for you, and since you failed to bring him the Tesseract _and_ lost him an infinity stone, he's probably going to kill you along with many of our people in retaliation," Thor finished it for him.

"Exactly," Loki said, smiling sheepishly.

Thor waved a finger at him, lips flattened into a thin line. "Put that away," he said, turning around towards their village, "We're going warn the rest of Earth."


End file.
